Automatic continuous pressure cooker



1,539,793 J. L. ANDERSON' ET AL AUTOMATIC CONTINUOUS PRESSURE COOKER Filed Aug. 27, 1923 14 Sheets-Sheet l May 26, 1925.

May' Z6, 1925.

J. L- ANDERSON ET AL UTOMATIC C'ONTTNUQUS PRESSURE CQGKER Filecf Au@ 2'7"., 1923 I4 Sheets-Sheet 2 rovmoava .m 6 Y if Topp E@ n V mfyA JJ May 26, 1925.

J. L. ANDERSON ET'AL AUTOMATIC CONTINUOUS PRESSURE COOKER Filed Aug. 27, 1923 14 Sheets-Sheet 475 /U 'yl ATTORNEY May 26, 1925. 1,539,793

J. L. ANDERSON ET AL AUTOMATIC CONTINUOUS PRESSURE COOKER Filed Aug. 27, 192s l14 sheets-sheet 4 INVENTORS: J L. Auprzsov A ANpA-zso/v Evo/Naro# A oRNEY May 26, 1925. 1,539,793

J. L. ANDERSON ET AL AUTOIATIC CONTINUOUS PRESSURE cooKER Filed Aug. 27, 1923 14 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENToRs;

' ATTORNEY May 26, 1925.

1,539,793 J. L. ANDERSON ET AL AUTOMATIC CONTINUOUS PRESSURE COOKERv Filed Aug. 2 7. 1923 14 Sheets-Sheet 6 .ATTORNEY May 26, 1925.

J. L. ANDERSON ET AL AUTOMATIC CONTINUOUS PRESSURE COOKER Filed Aug. 27,'1923 14 Sheets-Sheet 'l :MMM Y Saar' E Raes N Ozzw R u; o E? m .NJA-x.. JJM

May 26, i925.

f 1,539,793 J. L. ANDERSON ET AL AUTOHATIC CONTINUOUS PRESSURE COOKER Filed Aug. 27, 1923 14 Sheets-Sheet 8 ZO 27x51 .ZZ

l' J9' "i lig "LIL 3/7 320 W l i461? l 255 \l\ I i 234 245 I fzj gjz 3f@ i 25 \I 'tr ,E /i 'E' 32e -5 ATTORNEY May 26, 1925. 1,539,793

J. L. ANDERSON ET Al.

AUTOMATIC CONTINUOUS PRESSURE COOKER Filed Aug. 27, 1925 '14 Sheets-Sheet 9 FZ5. Zi;

/57 /55 l f l I jl 0 i? /00 /03 QJ /oz IQJ /Zo h /OZ Q y INVENTORS:

' ATTORNEY May 26, 1925. 1,539,793

J. L. ANDERSON ET AL v AUTOMATIC CONTINUOUS PRESSURE COOKER Filed Aug. 27, 192; 14 Sheets-SheetA 10 (Y 4f-27 Zz" E j o /5/ d 54! INVENTORS: ./.LANDEASON ./.AA/vpeoa/v ATTORNEY May 2s, 192s. 1,539,793

J. L. ANDERSON ET AL AUTOMATIC CONTINUOUS PRESSURE COOKER Filed Aug. 27, 1923 14 Sheets-Sheet ll E275; 2 @WMM 60 ATTORNEY May ze, 1925.

1,539,793 J. l.. ANDERSON ET AL AUTOMATIC CONTINUOUS PRESSURE COOKER Filed Aug. 27, 1923 14 Sheets-Sheet 1 2 /q/a? `r" May 26, 1925. A 'u 1,539,793 J. L. ANDERSON ET AL AUTOMATIC CONTINUOUS PRESSURE COOKER Filed Aug. 2"?, 1925 14 Sheets-sheet 13 ff- /y Hija ATTORNEY 1,539,793- y J. L. ANDERSON ET AL AUTOMATIC CONTINUOUS PRESSURE COOKER Filed Aug. 27, 1923` 14 Sheets-Sheet 14 May 26, 1925.

INVENTORS L. A Noz/Solv A. ANpEfso/v ATTORNEY Patented May 2 6, 1925.

UNITED STATES JOHN L. ANDERSON, 0F QGDEN, AND JAMES A. A.N'EBSON AND WILLIAMR. EDDING- '.LONl 0F MORGAN, UTAH.

4AUToIiLevrIc CONTINUOUS PRESSURE cooxEn. Y

Application led August 27, 1923. Serial No. 659,548.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN L. ANDERSON, JAMES A. ANDERSON, and WILLIAM R. ED- DING'roN, all citizens of the United States, the first-named, a resident of Ogden, in the county of Weber, and the two last-named, residents of Morgan, in the county of Morgan, all in the State of Utah, have jointly invented a certain new and useful Automatic Continuous Pressure Cooker, of which the following, together with the accompanying drawings, constitutes a full, clear, and exact specification, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Thls Invention 'relates to an automatic,

Icontinuous cooker for canned foods o1 other products, but especially for those requiring cooking in sealed vessels such as ordinary tin cans, under fluid pressure, such as steam, greater than atmospheric pressure.

The principal objects ofthe invention are to provide an automatic machinewhich shall:

First. Be adapted to receive without interruption, one or more single files of cans as they come from the vcapping machines,

thus conforming to the accepted method of'A handling cans in modern canning factories. Second. Allow the cooking of several different kinds of goods simultaneously.

Third.' Permit the constant rolling of the cans for agitating the contents, thereby promoting the even and gradual heating of the contents.

Fourth. Allow the passage of the cans therethrough in continuous procession along a circuitous line of travel. of su'icient length for exposing the cans to the cooking atmosphere,r the requisite length of time to insure thorough cooking of the contents of the cans. i

Fifth. Propel the cans through their entire course of travel in a, -positive manner, so

that there shall beno loafing, jamming,

nor mutilating of cans en route.

Sixth. Accomplish the ingress and egress of.cans with a minimum loss of steam.-

Seventh. Have Vasystem of balanced gates, whereby undue stress and waste of power, when working against fluid pressure, shall be eliminated.y

Eighth. Have the gates adapted for an instantaneous make-and-break contact on an elastic bearing, thereby assuring a perfect closure,land by eliminating sliding contacts, render lubrication in the path of cans, unnecessary.

Ninth. Keep cans free from contact with lubricants at all points of travel through the machine.

Tenth. Eliminate the personal factor as regards time of cooking, every can being heated in accordance with a predetermined program.

Eleventh. Allow factors, which in other methods of cooking, are subject to variation, to be brought to a positive basis' of predetermination.

Twelfth. Be equipped with means for accurately adjusting movable parts, and with means for taking up, or compensating, the lost motion in those parts-mostly subj'ected to stress and wear.

Thirteenth. Have all parts readily accessible for inspection and repair.

Fourteenth. Render personal attendance unnecessary, excepting to keep a. general supervision over a group of machines.

In' order to point out clearly the advantages accruing through the use of this invention, over methods hitherto in vogue for handling canned products which must be cooked under a pressure different from the pressure of the mosphere, it is considered pertinent to briefly describe typical presentcovers, and are set with their axes vertical.

Ordinarily, the capacity of each retort is about 1200 cans of average size, which may be placed in metal baskets, there being usually three baskets, each holding about 400.

cans, to each retort.

At the centerof he circle of 'which the retort arc is a part, is stationed a jibl crane arranged to swing over the retorts, this. crane being provided with an electric hoist mounted on a trolley for serving the retorts. Each craney may serve 'about vfifteen retorts.

' In using the retorts, the are iirst loaded into the baskets by hand, in a working space to the rear of the crane; the load- I is lowered and the clamps thereof t' htened by the workmen. Steam is admi to the retort tothe proper pressure, as indicated by its individual gauge, and the cans are left to cook the required time. All the retorts are charged successively in a similar manner, and while some are cooking, other retorts are being charged or emptied. By the time the crane has made the circuit ofY all the retorts, the first one charged, will be iready to have its cans removed. For this purpose, the crane must again be swung over the first retort, the steam pressure exhausted therefrom, the clamps Jholding the cover, unfastened, and the cover raised by the workmen. The baskets of cans must then be lifted out one lby one,by the crane, dipped in a trough of cold running water, and the cans removed from baskets by hand. The retort is then charged again with a fresh lot of cans and the cover lowered and clamped. l'Ihese operations are continued in succession with all the retorts, and indefinitely repeated.

An endeavor is made to correctly time I the cooking in each retort, but it can readily be .seen that this timing is necessarily a haphazard proceeding, and it occasionally happens, in the hurry and bustle of the short canning season and the stressed conditions under which the workmen labor, that mistakes are made, causing the contents of some of the retorts to be only slightly cooked, and others to be overdone, while at best, the results only approximate the desired standard. v

Improper cooking impairs the. keeping qualities of the product, and results in a ,certain percentage of complaints from the consumer, with attending 'unpleasantns and loss. 1

A further disadvantage is the fact that/ the cans are all stationary within the retorts, so that the contents of the cans are not agitated while cooking, thus causing air uneven heating of the contents from the outside of thecans inwardly, and -in order to heat the contents suiciently at the centers of the cans, a longer time is required than would be the case if the contents were agitated while cooking; at the same time,

' the contents near .the outsideof a can, are

subject to overheating.V

It is evident 'that this method of handling the cans is exceedingly cumbersome, and-V In alleanneries, large and small, the uni-v form cooking feature a'orded by a machine constructed in accordance with the present invention, is highly desirable, and in the larger canneries, the saving in labor and in floor spacfwhich may be realized, are items 1of considerable importance.

in longitudinal relationship to the container, and embracing a runway following a circuitouscourse, of a length such that when taken relatively to the speed withV which the cans travel through the runway the cans will be exposed to the intlueneeof the atmosphere within the container, a predetermined length of time.V

ing'individual lmpellers extending through the runway, and carried by endless, flexible traveling members which follow closely the general contour of the runway, the traveling members rweiving their motion from a source of power outside of the container.

n A feeding meclanism is also located inside the container and in proximity to the entry to the runway, so that the conveyor A propelling mechanism is provided hav--v shall be uniformly loaded and the cans be placed between successive-impellers.

In order to transfer cans from the outside of the container to the feeding mechanism, an inlet mechanism is provided, which consists of .a lock which at one time con- `fines a steam pressure equal to that inside the container, and at another time, an air pressure equal to that of the atmosphere,

the steam andair ressure confinements alterni'tig with each other. Provision is also made to embody means for automat-ically opening and the lock in accordance with a cycle o'ffpredetermined timing, means for admittcans to the lock at one point of the cyce, means lfor releasing theocans from the lock at uanother point of the cycle, and 'meansvfor l conducting the cans from the lock to the feeding mechanism.

There is provided, further, an outlet.

mechanism for transferring cans from the conveying system to the outside of the container, the construction and operation of whichis in general, similar toY that of thev inlet mechanism the exact points of. dif-v ference becoming iication.

The ar ent of the -conveyor runway together with the mechanism for prnevident, later in this specimasses 'pellingv the cans through the-runway, forms an important part of the present invention. A

vested and threshed at .one time, so that pods in various stages of development or The purpose of the 'runway is to support maturity, are present. This results in the confine vand guide the traveling cans, an

to this end may comprise angular rails disposed at the four corners of a rectangular cross-section, in a manner to form parts of l' four planes intersecting each other in pairs, preferably atsright angles to each other. The confining planes are preferably so spaced apart. from each other, that the cans `may roll freely along the longitudinal dimension ofthe runway, but that any undue displacement of the cans in any direction transverse to the runway, will be prevented.

Vithin the container, the space is valuable, so it is desirable to use it economically, which means thatv the actual runway 'space shall equal as great a proportion of 1 the total container space as possible.

Ve accomplish an economy in this direction, by arranging the runway ina succession of back and forth folds, extending,

directionally ccnsidered, in an over and return relation to each other and tothe point at which vthe cans are fed into the runway. This forms what may be called a sec-` tion of folds. A plurality of such fold sections may be employed, and the over fold portion of one section maybe joined to the yreturn. fold portion of another section, or

vice versa, by means of a transfer limb portion corresponding 1n cross-section to the runway cross-sectlon. Thus, traveling cans may be transferred from one section, to 'another without interruption.

By means of this arrangement, the continuity of a long, circuitous runway may be established, and further, by making the spacesvbetween successive-folds as small as possible, and by p lacing consecutive fold sections closely adjacent or adjoining each` other, the space occupied by the runway may be brought. within very compact limits.

This arrangement of the runway lends itself also, to a favorable combination with a propelling mechanism having impellers for urging the cans through the runway, besides affording an opportunity for the advantageous disposition of a framework for;v supporting both the runway structure and the propelling mechanism. The runway, in folds and sections of folds, as just' described, constitutes what may be called a stack andv by placing two or more stacks side by side, a multiple unit may be formed.l The various runways making up the Aunit may be served in common by a single propelling mechanism. This is of great advantage, because in many canning factories, a number of different-:brands of goods are run' through the plant simultaneously. Especially is this the case with-peas, owing to the peculiar conditions usually surrounding this product. Peas are all har- The machine exemplified in the present instance, embodies a twin unit.

- Novel features of operation are made possible by the construction just touched upon, and these featurt 3- will presently be empha-4 sized. j

The flexible traveling members may consist of two endless sprocket chains operatively disposed on either side of the runway unit, the pitch lines of the chains following closely the contour of the center line of the over folds, return folds, and transfer limb portions. For each chain, at the bends where the movements of cans passing through the folds change direction, are placed guide sprocket wheels, one or moreJ of the sprocket chains in place of the usualpins. The impellers, further, extend transversely through the spaces between the angular rails, thereby, when in motion, sweeping through the entire course of the runway" or runways, as the case maybe, and. urging the cans before them.

yProvision may be made fory adjustably stressing the traveling sprocket chains under an initial tension, and for taking up the Awear thereof. Provision is'also. made for simultaneously adjusting the lengt-h ofthe, particular folds affected by the chairi adjustments, so that the contour ofthe center lines of the runway sections superposed one upon another. shall always substantially coincide with the endless contour of the pitch line of the sprocket chains.-

In order to cause the positive entry of the cans into 'the conveyor, we employ whatwe choose to call a canprojector, which of which may be utilized, if desired, for

may consist of a constantly rotating fricder spring pressure, and to roll them forward from the star-wheel into the vconveyor [ftion wheel, adapted tocontact the cans un- 'y lao gaps. This forms part of the feeding mechamsm.

The exit of the cans from the machine, is regulated by the discharge gates which are designed to handle the cans in groups, intermttently, similar to the inlet gates. The

Yfact that groups of cans are handled intermittently, does not change, in result, -the continuous feature, so far as the effect on the lines of cans going to, or comin-g from,

the machine,is concerned.

' Fig. 6;

Fig. 16,. a development of the section indiomitted;

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal vertical section lying partly in the centerplane and partly in the planes indicated by line 1-1 Vin Fig. 3, a portion of the conveying system being shown in elevation; Y

Fig..2, a side elevation of the two lend portions of the machine, drawn to a Vscale somewhat larger than used in Fig. 1, the

intermediate body portion having been broken away, for convenience;

Fig. 3, the front' elevation, drawn to the same scale as Fig. 2,' parts in the background Fig. 4, a section taken on line 4-4, Fig. 1, also drawn to the scale u sed in Fig. 2, parts in the background omitted;

Fig. 5, a fragmentary section taken on l line 5, Fig. 4, but with cans in runway;

Fig. 6, a side elevation fragment, largely in section, and substantially identical with the portion outlined at 6 in Fig.. 1, though considerably enlarged to show the details of Athe inlet mechanism and feeding mecha'- nism Fig. 7, a side elevation, as seen in the di rection of the arrows. of the fragment indi- Fig. 12, a section taken on 12-12, Fig. 6; Y

Fig. 13, a section, on line 13, Fig. 12, considerably enlarged;

Figs. 14 and 15, elevations of parts lying in front of planes 14 and 15 respectively, in

cated by the line 16 in Fig. 6;

Fig. 17, an enlargement of substantially the portion'enclosed byline 17 inl Fig. 7, parts in the background omitted;

Figs. 18 and 19, sections taken respectively o n the lines'18 and 19 in Fig. 17;

' Fig. 20, the rear elevation, parts in the -ter plane, of the Fig. 21, the rear elevation without cover and partly in section on line 21 in Fig. 1,

portions in the background being omitted;

Fig. 22, a vertical section lying in the cenortion enclosed bythe broken line 22, in ig. 21 ;v

Fig. 23, a section on line'23, Fig. 22;

Fig. 24, an enlar ed detail, showing method of connecting impellers to`sprocket chains;

Fig. 25, an enlarged section taken on. line 25 in Fig. 1; I

Fig. 26, a perspective diagram of the runway sections with folds constituting one stack;

Fig. 27, a perspective diagram of one of the sprocket chains with guide wheels, as arranged to follow the contour of the fold sections of the runway;

Fig. 28, a fragmentary section, enlarged, taken on line 28 in Fig. 21, with cover in place, and showing some parts in alternate positions;

Figs. 29 and 30, details, kin enlarged pervspectlve of runway takeup yokes, seen in the directions of the arrows 29 and 30, respectively, in Fig. 33; f

Fig. 31, details, in rspective, drawn to a scale somewhat smalldr than the two preceding figures, of take-up brackets with portions of associated parts, as seen in the direction of arrow 31, in Fig. 33. s

Fig. 32, details in enlarged perspective, of aligning bracket and associated parts, as seen inthe direction of the arrow 32, in Fig. 33; L

Fig. 33, a section online 33 in Fig. 1.; and

Fig. 34, a constitution dia ram, showing the relations of the princi-pa parts of the machine to each other.

Referring to the drawings, 40 represents the shell of the cooking container supported on the legs 41, which may rest on the floor 42. The shell 40 may carry the circumferentially flanged ring 44 at lone end, and a similarly flanged ring 45 at the other end thereof. The ring 44 may be faced and bored to receive the rear head 46, while the ring 45 may similarly receivethe front head 47 Each of the heads 46 and 47 may have a. spigot flange 48 to fit the bored portions of rings 44 and 45, respectively, and theV heads 46 and 47 may be securely fastened to the flanges of the respective rings, by means of bolts 49. The front head 4,7 may be uti- 1i`zcd to support the operating mechanisms of the machine while the conveyor system may be supported principally Within. the

cooking compartment 50 of the container, and the conveyor drive, by the rear head 46. The neck 86 may be formed integrally with the head 46,'thus providing a recessed portion 51, foraccommodating the rear parts of the conveyor system. In a similar manner, the front h ead 47 may have-the integrally C'on/Ueyor system.

The conveyor system embraces the traveling mechanism with its' appurtenances, the runway guides, and the structure by which theseare directly supported.'

Traveling mechansm.-The -traveling mechanism (Figs. 1, 5, 23, 25, 27 and 28) follows the runway contour, 'presently to be described, and has the two endless sprocket'L chains 52, 52, which receive their motion"-d frgm the drive sprocket Wheels 53, 53, and 57, 57 ri idly mounted on the drive shafts 63 an 6 respectively. The sprockets 53, 53 and 57 57, also serve as guide wheels, and

' the chains 52, 52, further, pass around other guide sprocket wheels 4, 54, 55, 55, 56', 56, 58, 58, 59, 59, 60, 60,-and 61, 61, these being mounted in shafts 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, and 71. A11 the shafts with their splrocket wheels, are placed so the conveyor c ains 52 will follow the runway. folds and bends, the exact arrange- 'ment of which will be described in connection with the runway.

The drive sprcket 53, 53, and 57, 57 are rigidly' mounted on the drive shafts 63 and 67 respectively, (Figs. 1,-2, 21, 22, 27 and 28) these being journaled in the bracketed boxes72, which may-be secured to the end standards 73, by bolting. For convenience in 'assembling or dismantling, the drive shafts 63 and 67 may have detachably coupled thereto, the stub shafts 82 (Figs. 20,

21, and 22). The couplings may consist of the heads 80, having, for instance, a square cross-section (Figs. 22 and 23), and being integral with the shafts 63 and 67. The heads 'may lit loosely into the sockets 81, which may be rigidly mounted on the vstub' shafts 82. Shafts v82 are journaled in the stuffing-boxes 83 and the plain boxes-84, the former constituting integral parts of .the brackets 87 .while the boxes 84 may be separate from the brackets, but be rigidly mounted thereon. For the purpose of readily detaching the shafts`82 from the shafts 63 and 67, and also for convenience 1n manufacturing, the brackets 87 may be made separate from the neck 86and be rigidly attached thereto, by means' of bolts 151.

pairs respectively,-on the vmachine, because it is convenient to place Glands 88 may be used to make steamtight I. joints around the shafts 82. Recessed porv tions 89 and 90 may beformed in the neck 86 for accommodating the sockets 81.

Sprocket wheels 85, keyed to the shafts 'l0' 82, are arranged for receiving motion from the sprocket pinions 152 (Figs. 2 and 20) by means of the chains 153 and.154,'the pin- `ions 152 being mounted on the shafts 155 and 156, and these being journaled in the 76 bearings 157. Bearings'157 are mounted onv aframe-composed of beams 158 and'beams 159, the latter resting'o'n the brackets 160- rigidly attached to theshell 40 of the coutamer. nected to eachv other by any wellknown' differential mechanism (indicated in Fig. 2)

preferably located .within the pulley 161, l

the` latter being connected by 'means of a belt 162 to any convenient source of power, 86

Shaft 64, 66, 68, 70 and 71, are jour.-

naled in bearin s 163 (Figs. 2 and 4)' which are carried by t e walls 76 of the front head- 47. Flanges 164, secured to the bearings 163, are provided with stuffing-boxes, these 'being fitted withthe glandsv 165 for making steamtight joints around the shafts 64, 66,'- 68, 70 and 71. i The sh'aft 71 is utilized to transmit power motion to the various mechanisms which are supported by the front head 9.5 47,`and'whi'ch will be described in detail in appropriate places hereinafter. `For this purpose, the shaft 71l (Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 11) is extended at each end, beyond the glands 165, and is carried in bearings 77 formed in theoutboard brackets 166.

The pitch of the conveyor chains 52 is selected with regard to the diameter of the largest cans that are tov pass through the the impellers at pivotal points of the links of the chains. The pitch of the impellers may therefore be equal either to the .pitch .of the chains, vor to a multiple thereof. In

the present instance, the piteh of the impellers is equal to twice the pitch of the chains, and the pitch of the impellers, minus the outside diameterthereof, vis somewhat greater than the diameter of the cans 170. The sprocket wheels are so arranged that the corresponding pitch points 4of the two chains, shall be directly opposite each other, transversely across the machine, andwhen in motion, to travel in step with each other. The impellers are made up of round tubes 107 journaledI on rods or axles 108, which latter extend from one .chain across to the other. rlhe towo ends of the axles project through the individual links "5.18 (Flg. 24)` of the chains, and are. fastened yby means of cotter keys 78 in the same m'annelas are fastened the usual link pins 79; l The ends of the yimpeller tubes '107 are fitted -with .the

Shafts and .156 may be con- 80 angles '149 reventdisplacement upwardly.

There is su cient clearance (not shown) between the angles 148 and 149 to allow the free movement of the -impellers between them.

Means fortightening and tensioning the chains, and taking up the wear thereo are provided by mounting thek shafts and 69 1n bearings 91 (Figs. 1, 21, 28, 31 and 33) which may form integral parts of the bracketed end pieces 92, the latter being slidably mounted on the pins 93. The pins 93 are rigidly secured in bosses 94, forming in tegral parts of the end standards 73. The bracketed end pieces 92, together with the beams 98 and 99, rigidly secured thereto, form carriages, the purpose of. which will presently be explained. The carriages may be adjusted by means of the stems 97, which may be secured to the bearings 91, b threading one end in the bosses an 'locking therein with the nuts 96. The other end of each stem 97 may be threaded .'toreceive a' handwheel 100. The handwheels are de- Isigned to bear on the compression springs 101,' and the reactions of the springs are taken against the okes 102, these being rigidly fastened to the cover 103 (Figs. 1, 2, 20,28 and'33). The covermakes a tight 'closure for the container, and isfastened to the flange 43, by means of bolts 62.v In order to make steamtight joints around the stems 97 stuffing-boxes 104, forming integral parts of the cover 103, and fitted with vglands 105,.may be provided.

The perspectlve diagram,J Fig. 27,l of the l chains 52, shows at a glance the endless ar rangement of the chains in entirety, as well as the locations `of the driveand guide/ sprocket wheels, andthe arrow points indicate the directions of travel in the various parts of the chains. v

Runway guides and su porting "structur .-In the present embochment, the runwayguides are formed chiefly of steel angles and Ts which make up the straight or tanthat the runway, Ain

gent portions thereof, and are so disposed vpress-section, which is rectangular, shall ha e an angular bearing or guide at each of the four corners of the rectangle. This provides a pair of planes intersecting eachother, at each corner, as shown in Fig. 25', where 167 and 168 represent track angles, and 169 track Ts', on the horizontal angesfof which, the rims of the cans v170 may roll, Iwhile--the stems of the angles and T suflicient clearance to allowtheir free passage. The cans are prevented from any um due lifting from thel track flanges. by the s confine the cans laterally with It should be understood that while, in ,the

' present position of the machine, the angles 167 and 168, and the Ts 169, act as track members and the angles 171 and 172, and

the Ts 17 3, as guard members, yet it is convenient to refer to them collectively as runn 'way guides. Y

The fundamental purpose in this invention, 'of securing great length and continuity for the runway, in a 'space as compact asA possible, is achieved by arranging the runway guides in a succession of 'back and forth laps, or what we choose to call folds, in` dicated` at to 141 (Figs. 25 and 26),

which extend over, and return upon themselves, alternately, land which we luwe chosen, further, to call over folds andv return folds?? The word over is here used to designate the direction of travel awayV from the front, or feed end,ofl the machine, while the word return designates the opposite direction, or travel towards the feed end. v

'In the present embodiment, the individual folds are first of all arranged in sections or tiers, which includethe alternating over folds and return folds located one above an other. in substantially vertical alignment. A-

vcertain pluralit of these sections, such as a, b, c, d, may arran d adjacent or adjoining each other, to fgoerm a Vstack which :completes an independent runway unit. Multiplyin the stacks in an individual machine, pro uces multiple units, and-'asthe presentI embodiment is a twinunit, there are two stacks, A. and B,V these beingfshown in transverse section in 25. For 4clearly indicating the method o building up fthe stacks, stack B is shownindiagrammatic' perspective in Fig. 26. The stacks A and are located on either sideof the'center A :line 150, and for convenience in operating 'n the gate system are a in right an left relation toeach other.

tions a comprise the folds 110 to-117 ;-sec

the folds 126 to 135; and Sections ad, the f01ds134 to 141. Y f

tions 1), the folds 118 to' 125; sections c lll For thevsake of simplicity of. construction.V

'in supporting the runway guides,- and to harmonize'the arrangement thereof withithe I design o fthe traveling mechanism, the corresponding folds of the various sections-are Y arranged in horizontal alignment with each other, forming decks designated by the letters m ,.n, p, r, s, t and u, which may be called over ecks and return decksfin' agreement with the nature of the folds com-V 

